Once and Again
by juls2006
Summary: we were meant to be" ... "we were created one for the other" ... i heard him whisper in the darkness... It was a voice I had never heard before but it felt so familiar...
1. 1 Preface

**PREFACE**

I turned around to face my image in the full length mirror. The girl I saw looking back at me couldn't possibly be me. For starters her hair was all wrong! My once gorgeous long brown locks were pilled on top of my head giving the illusion I was 5 inches taller. Five inches of pilled on hair! Diamond and pearl adorned pieces were stuck in all different directions. After a moment or so of staring at my do I moved my gaze downwards, to the intricate dress I was wearing. It reminded me of something out of my favorite book Pride and Prejudice, a piece of art indeed. Ruffles, beads, lace and fabric adorned my petite body, making me feel like I could hardly breathe. I tried to turn around from the waist up, but quickly realized there was something hard pressing against my abdomen keeping me from doing so. What the hell? The expression on the girls face in the mirror caught my attention; her cheeks were blushed unnaturally, in an exaggerated manner. Her skin was a ghostly pale white; making her red lips the more noticeable. Her eyes were my own, deep chocolate brown pools staring back at me. It was me! But it wasn't myself… I then took notice of my surroundings. First the mirror, it was clearly an antique. The edges were faded and there were some dead spots where it could no longer reflect images. The wooden trim was carved in flowing river-like designs and painted gold. Turning my whole body I took in the room I was standing in. It was a place I had never seen before, yet it was strangely familiar. I no longer felt uneasy as I had when I first looked in the mirror, on the contrary I felt … at home. Long red velvet curtains covered the 3 windows from ceiling to floor. The walls were painted a subtle white almost pear-like color that matched the one large tapestry that lay in front of the one French style door. I glanced over to the bed and was marveled at once. This was the biggest bed I had ever seen. The wood was cherry red in color, and the four posts almost reached the very high ceiling. Fabric clung to the posts, they reminded me of mosquito net, but this was much finer definitely not mosquito net. The light outside the windows started to fade, letting me know twilight was quickly approaching. The fear that realization triggered inside me was unexplainable. Since when was I afraid of the dark? My heart was pounding at my chest harder and harder each beat, my palms started sweating and I could feel a panic attack at bay. What the hell?! I could feel a presence getting closer and closer and that only made me fear escalate more, I had the sensation I was in danger but I couldn't run. Something told me it was useless and that I couldn't get away... My lungs contracted and detracted as I desperately tried to gasp for air…I closed my eyes shut tightly and prepared for the worst, but the worst never came. I opened one eye and was blinded by the piercing white light making me pull it shut. I decided to try opening them once more, this time shielding whatever that light was with the palm of my hand. As I did so I realized that light was the morning sun shining through my bedroom window, and that I was laying in bed…


	2. 2 Then

**Chapter 1 - THEN **

_Edward - 1917_

The day passed so slowly, and I couldn't wait for the school day to come to an end. After all I did have some errands to do.

Mr. Sawyer was giving a lecture on current events in the History hour. Funny - discussing current events for a class that is supposed to deal with the past. But the present could not be ignored and it seemed the main topic of discussion everywhere you turned, the war. It had been going on for almost four years now; the Unites States had gotten involved last April, a month before my 16th birthday, when they declared war against Germany. How I wished to enlist and fight along side my many childhood friends, if only I was a year older…

But mother and father had their heart set on the opposite. I guess I couldn't blame them, with me being their only child and all. Well their only _living_ child. Mother had given birth to a girl when I was 4 but she died shortly after. They had named her Eleanor Katherine Mason, and her sudden death caused my parents great pain and made them more over protective of me. School was always a top priority, mother wanted me to finish school and maybe go study abroad to college and joining the armed forces was out of the question. I remember it was just a few months ago the day America announced their involvement; I had come home and waited impatiently for father to come home from his Law Firm so I could find a good moment to bring up the subject. Dinner seemed a good time as any.

"How was your day, sir?" I asked my father. I had been raised well behaved and good manners were as much part of me as my own blood.

"Not terribly bad, but it seems we have hard times ahead of us son. This war is getting bigger and bigger by the minute. And now that our country has joined the effort it will affect us deeply, no doubt." He said glancing over at mother while he spoke. They way he looked at her after all these years never ceased to amaze me. He didn't need to speak his love for her out loud; the adoration he felt for my mother was ever present in his emerald green eyes. But he did it anyway, always calling her some pet name or another, his voice always tender.

"Father… mother." I said slowly with my eyes on my plate of hot potato soup. Anxiety creeping into my chest as I spoke. I continued before I lost my courage "I …want to enlist."

The silence was deafening, I glanced up. Mother was standing behind my father, her right hand rested on his left shoulder, the other on her cheek. Panic and pain conflicting emotions were plain to see in her face. My father had both hands clutched into fists on either side of his bowl, his gaze down.

Those few moments seemed like hours. Finally he spoke.

"Edward." He said his voice broke as he said the last syllable. He cleared his throat trying to compose himself. "Son, I admire your sense of patriotism, and I am proud that you would answer to the call of duty to our nation, but please …. Don't take the matter lightly." He continued as he glanced at my mother out of the corner of his eye.

In that instant I knew exactly what they were feeling. Empathy was a quality that, as a child, made me an outcast among my playmates. It seemed I was more perceptive than the rest of the kids, well everyone actually. I could almost hear my mother's pleas in her head. My father seemed to be mirroring her thoughts and was _also worried about her? What loosing me would do to my Mother?_ And just like that I decided not to enlist. I would stay in Chicago, finish high school and go off to college. More than anything in the world I wanted to make them happy, and proud of me.

"I won't father, I will think this very carefully." I answered but I already had my mind made up.

The ringing of the school bell made my mind snap back to reality. I got up, gathered my books and made my way out of the school room. Man that kid was getting some thrill of tugging on the cord that was attached to the brass bell that hung on top of the mansion looking building. _Stop it already, we all heard you._ I thought as I walked onto the street. Just as my father did, I attended an all male academy and thus was surrounded by mostly the wealthy and the "famous."

"Hey Edward! What's the rush?" Joshua caught up with me at the door. Joshua was my closest friend; we had known each other since we were four.

"Hey Thompson." I greeted him back by his last name, knowing how he hated to be called by it in public. Being the mayor's nephew had tons of obsessed girls trailing after him, or his last name anyway. He made a face at me, childish for his sixteen years of age, but didn't comment on my joke. "No rushes, just stopping at Martin's on my way home, where are you headed?"

"Mother is throwing another dinner party. It's the third one this week, and its only Wednesday!" he said at the same time his eyes were almost popping out of his sockets. "Wouldn't be so bad if my friends were invited," he continued giving me a playful punch at the shoulder. "You know how I love a party, but this... my friend, is NO party. It's just a bunch of parents trying to marry their girls off to me. And for what?! Social class ascent? It's sick!"

"Joshua, since when have you considered female attention bothersome?" I asked him raising an eyebrow, I knew him well and this guy was fond of the ladies.

"Since every girl they have brought home is either obsessed with the meal more than with me. Obsessed with themselves more than they are with me. Or obsessed with pure ball talk and jewelry and gowns more than with me." He stated matter-of-factly. Ah! Therein lies his problem, he cared not for fat girls, vain girls or high maintenance girls. I couldn't help but laugh at his oxymoronic statement, Joshua was vain and high maintenance himself! But I could see his point, the idea of my parents trying to marry me off was insulting and I felt for him.

I bid my farewells and good lucks to my friend and we parted ways.

The air was cold as could be expected this late in the year, and the snow covered most of the walkways and the streets. With Thanksgiving gone, people were out and about preparing for the next coming holiday, Christmas. How my mother loved Christmas! She had my father and I put up a tree the day after Thanksgiving; we trimmed it and drank her delicious hot chocolate together. I shoved my hands deeper into my coat pockets as I made my way across the street and into a tiny shop. The warmth I felt as soon I was inside was comforting. Chicago winters were tough and it doesn't help when I refuse to wear that mink coat mother brought back from Italy on her last visit. Instead I settled for the standard school navy blue uniform blazer, a black scarf and some black leather gloves. We weren't wealthy folk, but pretty well off with my father being a well known successful lawyer. We were part of the wealthy class but I was taught to spend our money wisely, only buying things when they were an absolute necessity. Well with the exception of my mother's shopping trips abroad.

The gift shop was located downtown between a library store and a boutique. It was small, and cozy. I had come here this past summer to do some window shopping and I had spotted the perfect gift for mother. It was a silver heart shaped locket that opened into three tiny compartments one of which kept a tiny heart shaped mirror, and the other two were empty slots for photos. I stood at the door way thawing out before coming forward to the counter giving the sales man time to finish bagging up the purchases of a young girl. Her back turned to me but I could smell from the distance her sweet aroma. She smelled like… strawberries? Interesting smell in the dead winter… She wore a heavier coat than mine, obviously she came form a well off family, and her hair was to her waist, long dark brown curls rested at her back. I turned towards the wall, taking my gloves off and rubbed my hands together back and forth and putting them close to my mouth to try and warm them up with the help of my breath. I was distracted looking at the paintings on the wall when a gasp followed by a groan made me turn the other way catching the end of what caused that sound. The young girl was on the floor with her new belongings cluttered around her.

"Oh no no no no no no." she said in a tone that seemed like this was routine to her.

I walked up to where she sat and helped her gather her items.

"Are you alright miss?" I asked blushing. Blushing? Was I blushing? Well this was the closest I had ever been to a girl my age, to any girl for that matter given the fact that I attended an all male school.

"Yes, I think so." She said as she lifted her gaze to meet mine. I was floored, right then and there. I had never seen eyes so beautiful, so pure, and so innocent…._so sad?_ Her chocolate eyes held my gaze as I tried to blindly recover her objects that lay between us. I was lost in those beautiful eyes but I noticed, a scarlet red color appearing at her cheeks, growing darker and darker as the seconds flew by. Then she looked away, embarrassed.

I tried to compose myself; clearly I could not just sit here like an idiot at a loss for words for ever. I forced myself to look down and gather her things. The salesman was already at our side with another brown paper sack extended to me. I put the items there stood up an offered my hand to her. She looked at me still clearly embarrassed, took my hand and stood up. I felt an electric shock run through me and low and behold I blushed again. I could hear my heart beat at my ears now, getting faster and faster. What was going on? A moment ago I was freezing from head to toe and now I felt such an intense heat that I knew I was bound to be sweating bullets by now.

"Thank you." She said as she let go of my hand to take the bag from me with both of hers. _No don't let go!_ But it was too late, she had her things and turned towards the door.

"Miss Swan?" said the salesman. "Don't forget your change."

"Oh," she replied as she extended her hand and wrapped her delicate fingers around the few coins he tendered to her. "Merry Christmas Mr. Martin and thank you." She said in her sweet voice as she turned and grabbed the door knob.

"Merry Christmas Miss Swan," he answered a second too late, the beautiful girl with the chocolate eyes had disappeared into the cold.

_Who was she? How old? Where did she live? Was she visiting family? Was she from Chicago too? Would I ever see her again? Why didn't I ask her name?_

"Ah! Mr. Masen, good afternoon to you young sir." His words hit me like a bucket of cold water, making me snap back to reality for the second time today.

"Evening to you too Mr. Martin." I replied with my eyes still fixed towards the door. My thoughts starting to flee in all sorts of directions again, and then I realized something. Here, behind the counter stood a very good source for the information I craved. I turn to meet his questioning gaze. How could I forget that here stood the one witness to our rather embarrassing yet enchanting encounter?

"How can I be of assistance?" he asked out loud but I knew there were other questions he wanted to voice out.

"I am doing some gift shopping and well, I remember seeing a locket here this past summer. I wanted to get it for my mother for Christmas." I said casually trying to hide the many emotions that were running through me.

"Of course Mr. Mason, I have just the thing." He said and walked over to a glass counter that housed many jewelry related objects. I took advantage of the situation by making small talk and trying to persuade the sales man to give me any information he had in his possession.

"Busy day Mr. Martin?"

"Why yes sir, with the holiday just around the corner, I'd say that business has indeed picked up a bit. Miss Swan was doing some Christmas shopping herself," he offered looking at me sideways. My interest in the girl went unnoticed. Well I'd better take advantage of the fact.

"Is that the young lady that just left a moment ago?" I asked as I looked away, trying to disguise my interest. I wanted to know more but I was sure this man didn't need to be pressured he'd give me all the facts without my needing to ask straight forward.

"Yes Sir," he found the piece of my interest and turned his back on me while digging in a drawer for a box to put the locket in. "She's a nice girl, close to your age I'd say," he said just as he found a small blue velvet box.

"She is the niece of the mayor, she just moved here a few weeks back. Poor girl, she's been through so much already. Her parents died last month, victims of a car wreck and her only family now is her mother's brother, Mayor Thompson."

He was facing me now looking a little sad. Clearly he felt for the girl, and I did too. I loved my parents more than anything in this world, and I would be completely destroyed if some tragedy took them away from me, and I would be all alone having no other family left. Not wanting to intrude anymore I browsed and purchased two more gifts, a pocket knife with a sterling silver handle for my father, I had the sales man engrave his initials on the side. I decided to get a necklace for my mother. I settled for one on display, it was silver with a single pearl tear droplet in the center. Knowing her taste, I was sure she would love it. Bless that woman, I could have given her a piece of coal and she would love it just the same being that it was from me. I paid for my gifts and thanked him for his time, and with that I stepped into the cold street again. I walked for a long time, not really paying any attention where I was going. Her sad lonely eyes were all I could think of.


End file.
